When music and Austin are brought up, Antone's is one of the first venues that comes to mind. Clifford Antone and his club are a large reason Austin can be called the "live music capital of the world." Through his tenacity and love for music, Antone was able to bring blues legends such as Muddy Waters and Albert Collins to town and help launch Stevie Ray Vaughan's career. After Clifford Antone passed away in 2006, his sister, Susan Antone, has helped keep Antone's at the top of its game. The venue is celebrating its 33rd anniversary this month.
"Hopefully [the club] has grown with the times and with the music," Antone said.
Along for the whole ride, Antone helped her brother as the club continued to grow and move around the city. The original location opened in 1975 on Sixth and Brazos Streets and, after great success, moved north.
"It changed from the old downtown place to the big venue [near MoPac], where you weren't having so many of your local bands," Antone said. "If you were going to have your local bands up north, you'd have them as openers. People didn't just come and hang out up there like they had on Sixth Street. When we moved to Guadalupe, it became more of a neighborhood place and it was terrific."
Antone's, which moved to its current location on Fifth Street in March 1997, is well underway with the anniversary celebration. Over the years, memories have been made within Clifford's establishment, occasionally leading to a few double takes.
"We had the opportunity to put together some pretty fun shows. One night we were doing a show with Dr. John, Jimmie Vaughan, Angela Strehli … but Stevie [Ray Vaughan] drops in and brings Bono and The Edge to play," Antone said. "Things like that used to happen a lot. It was really fun. You'd have somebody playing the next night, and you'd have Clint Eastwood on the dance floor, and you have to think, 'Is this science fiction?'"
Clifford also helped enrich the UT campus with his extensive music knowledge when he taught the course "The Blues According to Clifford Antone." Excited about both his students and teaching, Susan Antone said, Clifford would bring friend and blues great Pinetop Perkins into class to talk and play. Perkins is celebrating his 95th birthday Monday with a concert at Antone's.
When asked which act she was most excited about, Antone said, "I'm so excited about everyone being there." With a new act every night during the month of July, the 33rd anniversary is packed with talent, featuring The Scabs, the Bob Schneider Group and Barbara Lynn. Doyle Bramhall II, guitarist in Eric Clapton's band, will also be playing two shows next weekend.
Clifford Antone helped make Austin the city that it is today, and it is clear that after his passing, he is still remembered fondly. Things at Antone's proceeded slowly after its founder's death, Antone said, but things eventually fell into place.
"We just did it one day at a time with a lot of help from our friends. It's really tremendous how many people and bands have been so kind and so helpful," Antone said. "I know there's not anything that I could do for my brother anymore than keep that club going because he loved it so much. We try to do that and have a little merriment when we can."
Antone's is throwing its official anniversary party on Tuesday, July 15, with Jason Moeller.
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